Princess family goes Carnival Liberty

[Cozzette2]

We just returned from our Liberty 1/14/2012 cruise and let me preface this by saying we had an absolute blast.

We have taken a few Princess cruises but got such a great deal on the Liberty sailing that we thought it would be fun to try something new.

Pre cruise we stayed two nights at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood. We got a deal of $106 per night on Hotwire and it was the most gorgeous property I have ever stayed in. What a way to start the vacation:D All of our tansportation was handled by SAS transportation and that worked out very well.

Food at the Westin was spendy, I had my first and probably last $10 hot dog, well, it did come with 6 grapes. We were walking distance to the broadwalk so we spent lots of time and $$$ there. We took the trolly a couple of times, $1 each and a cool thing to do.

Now onto the Liberty. A quick trip to Miami via SAS and we were on our way.

We traveled with a group of 6, myself, husband, son and his wife, daughter and her husband and it was a first cruise for the kids so the excitment level was mighty high.

This was the fastest embarkation we have ever experienced. We were on the ship dragging our luggage behind us in about 20 minutes.

Now, here is where Carnival differs, on Princess you can drop off your carry ons right away.

It was crowded, really crowded with everyone and their luggage all trying for a place to sit on the lido. The Lido feels so tight with all the new additions. It didn't always feel that way during the week with people in other locations but it did seem like a lot of space lost to the new additions.

We finally got our room and it was spacious with a smaller than Princess balcony, but hey, it's a balcony and we were really pleased.

We had 3 rooms next to each other. We were on the upper deck 6 in cabins 6276,78,80. The location was perfect. They were close to the stairs an elevatore, 1 deck down to the stores, 3 decks up to the Lido.

We did get some noise from the Atrium music and the service closet was right across from 6280 and they started ratteling around at 7. Not a deal breaker though, I loved how close we were to everything.

One thing Carnival has all over Princess is the number of food options you have. I never did try a Guy's burger, everyone else did, but the fish and chips were delicious. I think the dessets were nothing to break your diet over, and yet I did, but the food over all and our service were wonderful.

Everyone was friendly and helpful.

One of the things I questioned was the lack of utilizing the spaces that they had. For instance, the playoff games were crunched into the Sports bar [ which is tiny ] and the casino. So if you couldn't get a seat you went to your room to watch it. If they had set up the big screen up on the deck and made it a party they would have sold a ton of drinks, I didn't buy any in my room:confused:

The best band in the place was in a walkway in front of the casino and yet the Hot and Cool was way under used. It seemed like everything revolved around the casino.

For you smokers, there still seemed to be several places set up to smoke and for my daughter in law it didn't seem to be an issue.

This ship had the most organized system for finding your pictures that I have ever seem, really smart.

One of the things I have never had on any other cruise was the dancing waiters and I gotta say, I loved it. We looked forward to the "show" everynight, it was soo much fun.

All and all small differences between the two lines but talk about bang for your buck, Carnival wins hands down.

We had a wonderful time and great experience on the Liberty.

Kris

[CorvetteLady]

Thanks for the great review!

 

You said the balcony was smaller, was the cabin also smaller? Just curious. :)

 

I wish that Carnival would redesign it's Lido area. I love the ones that have the seperate salad bars. Some small improvements could really improve the flow of passengers.

[serene56]

A Princess balcony is just a bed and a desk (andthe storage area.

Carnival has the sofa. On Princess you need a mini suite to gain the sofa

 

I LOVE Princess balconies compared to the Carnival.

 

Did you try carnival vs Princess pizza?

[kelkel2]

A Princess balcony is just a bed and a desk (andthe storage area.

Carnival has the sofa. On Princess you need a mini suite to gain the sofa

 

I LOVE Princess balconies compared to the Carnival.

 

Did you try carnival vs Princess pizza?

 

I like that on Princess you have that amazing closet space right outside the bathroom, but yes you are lacking a couch. The room itself is about the same size it's just a different set it.

 

I didn't care for Princess pizza, but their international cafe with donuts, chicken salads, fruit salads etc for sure made up for the laking in pizza.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

We loved the liberty. Can't wait to try her again since the new 2.0 refurbishing.

[firefly333]

Thanks for the great review!

 

You said the balcony was smaller, was the cabin also smaller? Just curious. :)

 

I wish that Carnival would redesign it's Lido area. I love the ones that have the seperate salad bars. Some small improvements could really improve the flow of passengers.

 

I have not been on NCL, but even RCL's smallest balconys on newer ships is larger than Carnival's.

 

Carnival's might be the smallest balconys out there at 35 s.f.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting. We're also veteran Princess cruises going on our first Carnival cruise together (along with DH's mother) in March. I'm going with an open mind. After all, some of the people on our last Princess cruise did not have a good time, but we had a great one.

[cdamion]

I like that on Princess you have that amazing closet space right outside the bathroom, but yes you are lacking a couch. The room itself is about the same size it's just a different set it.

 

I didn't care for Princess pizza, but their international cafe with donuts, chicken salads, fruit salads etc for sure made up for the laking in pizza.

 

I swear I remembered having a couch on Princess - I wen't back and looked at the pics and sure enough I didn't. My brain is morphing my cruises together.

 

The chicken salad at the international cafe is one of my favorite dishes anywhere! I got the recipe from Princess and learned how to make it for myself.

[swimmom32]

We too really liked the Liberty and would definitely sail on her again :)

Glad you had a great time

[sail2sea]

Carnival balconies are tiny.

 

Princess rooms don't have couches unless you have a mini suites. HAL is the line that offers couches even in low end rooms.

[kelkel2]

I swear I remembered having a couch on Princess - I wen't back and looked at the pics and sure enough I didn't. My brain is morphing my cruises together.

 

The chicken salad at the international cafe is one of my favorite dishes anywhere! I got the recipe from Princess and learned how to make it for myself.

 

Oh oh oh oh would you pretty please send it to me?

i'm kelley graves 2 at yahoo dot com (no spaces)

[spacepotatoes]

Glad you had a great time :) We also recently took our first cruise with Carnival (others were on NCL) and really enjoyed it.

 

I totally agree with you about the Westin Diplomat! DH and I stayed there after our cruise last March, thanks to Hotwire. It is still the nicest place we've ever stayed. We were at the Golf Resort but had access to the beachfront one as well. Just loved it!

[soccersharon]

Thank you for posting :)

 

Boarding the Liberty again in 38 days!

[gail811]

Thanks for the quick review. Sailing the Liberty in 52 days and love reading everything I can about it!

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for the review, Im looking forward to a cruise on the Liberty later this year! Sounds like you had a good time!:)

[Trish12345]

So glad you like your cruise! We usually have a suite which includes a couch. We use it to neatly stack our treasures from each port.

[Cozzette2]

The cabin was a good size and having a couch was a nice perk that we didn't have on princess. I did like the huge walkin closet on Princess but the bathroom seemed larger on Carnival.

I loved loved loved the huge theater on Carnival, geeze, Princess really needs to rethink their small theater. If you want to see a show in the Princess theater you better get there really early. I also loved the two story dining room, little differences on both lines but no deal breakers.

The one thing I did miss though was the walk around promenade deck that Princess has, the small walking track wasn't the same and I really enjoy takimg that morning walk with my ipod.

I loved the Starbucks specialty coffee but the coffee seved for free was much better than Princess as was the pizza.

Disembarkation for ports that required a tender was a breeze.

I went with a bit of trepidation after years of disparaging comments about Carnival but we were pleasently surprised. You will always find little differences but that makes for interesting experiences.

Bottom line, we had a really great time!!!

After the cruise we decided to stay one more night in Fot Lauderdale. We stayed at the Best Western Plus Oceanside hotel. We also got it on Hotwire. It is almost directly across the stree from the Bahia Mar, and on the beach.

You can tell it is an older property but the rooms are very clean and the bedding as good as the Westin [ I gota get me a white comforter and 10 pillows lol] The location is awesome it is right on the beach close to Las Olas Blvd with great little shops and great people watching.

They have one of the best complimentary breakfast buffets I have ever had.

To all of you with your cruise still ahead of you, happy planning and expectations. Have a great time. The Liberty is a great ship with lots of amenities and wonderful staff.

Kris

[KEG306]

We are Princess fans but also ended up taking a Carnival Cruise this year. There were a few things we definitely missed like the International cafe. I did a review of this years cruise with many comparisons. I prefer Princess pizza.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=95590

[Cozzette2]

Keg306, thank you for your review and comparisons. One of the things I forgot to mention was that the cabins didn't seem as sound proof and the banging of the balcony doors was annoying. I prefer the sliding doors but I liked that the balconies on Carnival were not cantalevered out so they seemed more private than on Princess.

We took first time cruisers and they had nothing to compare to and of course they thought this was the best cruise ever and that is what I was aiming for. Watching how excited they were really made this a wonderful cruise.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

what is more important than an NFL playoff game?

 

What did they have on the big screen instead?

 

Cruise director sounds like he really dropped the ball, no pun intended.

 

I've never heard of a playoff game not being broadcast on the big screen, ever!

 

I'll be on Princess for the Super Bowl. If that isnt on the big screen the ship will probably go nuts.

 

Bill

[gelo7]

Glad that you had a wonderful time.

[serene56]

I loved loved loved the huge theater on Carnival, geeze, Princess really needs to rethink their small theater. Kris

 

 

I like the carnival theater too. I like that we get a table for our drinks and feel that we can spread out some unlike Princess where you gotta hold that drink and good luck with getting a waiter to get you a drink while you are waiting for a show.

But on our Princess cruises the staff always filled the theater with balloons while the people waited for the show to start-=- colorful and festive

[Cozzette2]

Honestly, they should let long time cuisers plan the layout of future cruise ships. Then you could get the best of all your favorite features. Each ship has its plus and minuses.

Kris

[geoherb]

Thanks, KEG306, for posting the link to your review. We're going on our first Carnival cruise after several on Princess (as well as recent ones on Holland America and Celebrity). I think going in with an open mind will help me have a great cruise. And it will be like when we sail on one of our three favorite lines--there's always something that another line does slightly better.

[jkudzu]

Thanks so much for posting your review! We are Princess fans too who took our first Carnival cruise last year. We're going on the Liberty in June.

P.S. Our views were pretty much the same in comparing the two.:)